Internet Chess Club (ICC)

At the Mallorca tournament in 1969, the recently crowned World Champion Boris Spassky played a fantastic combination to defeat Bent Larsen, the second-best player in the West at the time, only behind Bobby Fischer. Try to find the winning sequence yourself!

Check solution:
https://play.chessclub.com/daily-puzzle/2026-06-05

The main asset in Black’s position is the powerful passed pawn, which looks very menacing. But White has even more direct threats. Can you spot the move Spassky found to win the game? (Boris Spassky vs. Arnulf Westermeier, Bundesliga 1981).

Check solution:
https://play.chessclub.com/daily-puzzle/2026-06-04

One of the last chess events Spassky played were the “Veterans vs. Women” exhibition matches organized by Joop van Oosterom. In this one, held in Marbella 1999, he outplayed Zhu Chen, who had just achieved her GM title and was on track to becoming the Women’s World Champion. Can you spot the winning move?

Check solution:
https://play.chessclub.com/daily-puzzle/2026-06-03

Even long after being defeated by Fischer, Spassky continued to shine from time to time. One example is this game he played for his club in the 1987 Bundesliga, after he had already moved to France. His opponent, Gilles Andruet, was on the receiving end of one of the most stunning queen sacrifices ever!

Check solution:
https://play.chessclub.com/daily-puzzle/2026-06-02

This was one of the decisive victories that allowed Boris Spassky to dethrone Tigran Petrosian as World Champion: Game 19 of their 1969 match in Moscow. What brilliant move did Spassky find to finish off the legendarily solid Armenian on the spot?

Check solution:
https://play.chessclub.com/daily-puzzle/2026-06-01

This is a game Karpov won against Efim Geller in Moscow 1981. Both players have a rook deep in enemy territory and a strong centralized minor piece, but White’s pawn on e5 makes all the difference. How did Karpov exploit this advantage?

Check solution:
https://play.chessclub.com/daily-puzzle/2026-05-31

Another attacking gem by Anatoly Karpov. White is an exchange down, but Black’s two missing queenside pawns and exposed king more than compensate for the material deficit. How should the attack continue?

Check solution:
https://play.chessclub.com/daily-puzzle/2026-05-30

🎂 World Champion Gukesh D turns 20 today!

At just 20, he has already achieved what all of us can only dream of: one of the youngest grandmasters in history, the second-youngest World Chess Champion ever.

But beyond the titles and the records, Gukesh stands out for something rarer: his quiet humility, his grace in victory and defeat, and the sportsmanship that makes him not just a champion of chess — but a champion of what a sportsman is meant to be.

Happy Birthday, Gukesh. The board is yours. ♟️👑

📸: David Llada - Chess & Photography

A model combination by Karpov from his victory over Valery Salov at Linares 1993. The World Champion had a decisive kingside majority, which he used to launch a flashy mating attack.

Check solution:
https://play.chessclub.com/daily-puzzle/2026-05-29